The invention generally relates to shunt tubes used in subsurface well completions, and particularly to systems that provide improved fluid entry into shunt tubes.
Conduits providing alternate or secondary pathways (sometimes referred to as shunt tubes) for fluid flow are commonly used in well completions. The shunt tubes allow fluid to flow past and emerge beyond a blockage in a primary passageway. In some prior art embodiments, the single entrance to a shunt tube could be covered, blocked, or otherwise become inaccessible to the fluid, thereby preventing the shunt tube from performing its intended function. Such blockage could occur, for example, when the shunt tube happened to be positioned on the bottom wall of a horizontal bore. Other prior art embodiments provided multiple pathways by which fluid can enter alternate pathway conduits, spacing entrance tubes to prevent all of them from being simultaneously obstructed, covered, or otherwise blocked, but spaced entrance tubes limit the available open area to flow. Therefore, there is a continuing need for improved entrance mechanisms to provide improved access to the shunt tubes.